Cover Story
The Trump Card
There’s no doubt that marijuana money plays a pivotal role in Humboldt County’s economy, not only buoying the balance sheets of local businesses but also the budgets of local police agencies. Over the years, millions in seized cash and property have gone toward Humboldt County Drug Task Force operations — basically paying for almost everything…
Update: Bodies of Mother, Girls Recovered From Klamath River
Update: The CHP confirmed today that the bodies of Elizabeth Palmer and her two young girls have been recovered after their car crashed into the Klamath River over the weekend. Previously A diver working alongside the Orleans Volunteer Fire Department this morning found a car in the Klamath River that is believed to contain the…
Updated: Last Chance Grade Losing More Ground
Update: Motorists traveling along the Last Chance Grade on U.S. Highway 101 south of Crescent City should expect up to 20 minute delays – day or night – as Caltrans works to stabilize a section of roadway there that slipped out on Wednesday. Caltrans District 1 Facebook post: TRAFFIC ADVISORY / UPDATE: Motorists using U.S.…
Music Tonight – Wednesday, March 8
Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead fanatic Piet Dalmolen returns to the Mad River Brewery Tap room at 6 p.m. to do his solo guitar/loops. The show’s free so help this father of two out. The Redwood Jazz Alliance brings Endangered Blood to the Morris Graves Museum of Art at 8 p.m. This NYC-based double-sax quartet…
Supes Support Marcus, Face Lawsuit by Week’s End
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors is standing by its newly hired public defender, even if it’s a stance that will soon land it in court. The board met in closed session this morning to discuss a local lawyer’s threat that he would ask a Humboldt County Superior Court judge to step in and block…
Fart Smell to Linger in Elections Material
Judge Timothy Cissna ruled this afternoon that the phrase “insert fart smell here,” will remain in special elections material to be distributed to Southern Humboldt voters this spring. The phrase was written by Scotty McClure as a rebuttal to arguments in favor of Measure W, a parcel tax intended to fund the rebuilding of the…
Mother, Young Daughters Believed Dead After State Route 96 Crash
A 30-year-old woman and her two young daughters remain missing and are presumed dead after the car they were in plunged approximately 500 feet down an embankment off State Route 96 north of Orleans on Sunday into the Klamath River. Orleans resident Elizabeth Anne Palmer was driving her Toyota Yaris southbound at about 7:20 p.m.…
More Rain Than Usual and More to Come
Snowy mountains. Rainy days. Flurries of hard-hitting hail. Unless you’re a fish, the weather continues to be bleak. The optimistic among us are calling it a return to an “old-fashioned Humboldt County winter” after years of drought but how accurate is that? According to Matthew Kidwell, a meteorologist at Eureka’s National Weather Service office, the…
CHP Investigating Fatal Weekend Accidents
The California Highway Patrol is investigation two fatal accidents over the weekend, including the death of a man who was struck Saturday night on Redway Drive after apparently walking in front of a Peterbilt tank truck — the second Southern Humboldt pedestrian death in one week. On Sunday evening, the 83-year-old female driver of a…
Uber Arrives on the North Coast as Company Crisis Continues
There’s a new transportation option in town, but it comes with some baggage. Uber — the online ride sharing service that offers an alternative to taxi cabs — recently made its debut in transportation-starved Humboldt County. But Uber’s expansion comes in the midst of what can only be described as a rough six-week stretch for…
Jill Stein at HSU
Have a few things to say to Jill Stein? Want her take on the current political circus? On Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. in Humboldt State University’s Kate Buchanan Room, the 2016 Green Party presidential nominee shares her thoughts (free). In order not to exceed room capacity, free advance tickets are required. Call 362-0333.
HumBug: O Hideous Little Bat
American poet Karl Shapiro begins his poem “The Fly” with the address, “O hideous little bat, the size of snot.” No other group of animals is as reviled as flies. Annually, members of the order Diptera account for millions of human deaths through diseases they spread. The ones that pester, infect and disgust us are really only…
Music Tonight – Sunday, Mar. 05
Dirtwire, featuring Beats Antique alum, brings its “world instrumentation into rhythm with electronic beats” that will get the dance floor bumping at the Arcata Theatre Lounge to wrap up our weekend. Joining this 9:30 p.m. bill is Lapa, a Russian-born classical violinist now based out of Portland, who blends his classical stylings with electronic music…
PenAir Scales Back But Remains Confident in Portland Route
PenAir recently reduced the number of daily flights from the Arcata-Eureka Airport to Portland from three flights to two, but insists the change isn’t related to passenger interest in the route. Missy Roberts, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, said the changes will affect everyone looking to fly with PenAir. She said the…
Watch Sara Bareilles’ Oscar Performance
There were some moving speeches and emotional twists at the Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, including Sara Bareilles’ moving rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” performed during the In Memoriam montage of stars and industry greats who passed away in 2016. In case you missed it while microwaving more popcorn or hobnobbing at the Eureka…
Music Tonight – Saturday, Mar. 04
Mad River Brewery house band The Crop Dusters (past and present employees of MRB) play a variety of tunes for you at 6 p.m. for free. Leave a tip, as I’m assuming they all get free beer. If you missed the Eureka Symphony last night, you’ve got another chance tonight. Same info as above. The…
Supes to Discuss Threatened Public Defender Lawsuit Tuesday
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will convene in closed session Tuesday to discuss its newly hired public defender, whether he is qualified to hold his post and whether it should brave the threat of a lawsuit in order to keep him. As we reported Wednesday, local attorney Patrik Griego sent the county a letter…
HumDOG’s 30th Dog Expo
Every dog has his day! And this is Humboldt’s big one. HumDOG’s 30th Dog Expo rolls around Sunday, March 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds (free). Dog lovers converge for a day of dog exhibits and demonstrations. Trainers, breeders and rescue groups all have tables so you can learn more…
Sunrise at the Refuge
Cacklin’ geese get on board. (Come on, Neil’s making a comeback.) It’s Sunrise at the Refuge on Saturday and Sunday, March 4-5 at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge (free). Thousands of geese leaving nighttime roosts, usually within 15 minutes of the 6:45 a.m. sunrise, are a sight and sound to behold. Gates open at…
Music Tonight – Friday, Mar. 03
“Funky jazzy improv” is on the musical menu in Blue Lake at the Mad River Brewery Tap Room at 6 p.m. courtesy of Ultra Secret. As above, this one’s also free. At 8 p.m., the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts hosts the Eureka Symphony for its “March Raptures” concert. Internationally acclaimed — and former…
Wheetley Feted as Arcata Council Moves Forward With Appointment
Now former Arcata Councilmember Mark Wheetley was sent off with a standing ovation and a proclamation honoring the volunteer soccer coach’s 12 years of elected public service at his last meeting on Wednesday. Mayor Susan Ornelas read the accolades for the soon-to-be Fortuna city manager, which described Wheetley as an “easy to work with and…
Food with Benefits
Love to eat? Have a philanthropic side? Put your money where your mouth is and help local organizations keep doing what they do. Choose between two benefit dinners this weekend — hey, or do both. Humboldt CASA is an important organization working on behalf of local kids. Your dollars for dinner and auction items help…
Music Tonight – Thursday, Mar. 02
Things get folky with some fiddle tunes by Fingal this evening at the Mad River Brewery Tap room starting around 6 p.m. and, as usual, for free. Farther south you’ll find the John Jorgenson Quintet performing at The Old Steeple in Ferndale at 7:30 p.m. Multi-Grammy-winner Jorgenson mainly plays guitar but is also at home…
Revenge of Field Notes
Stop by Eureka Books during Arts Alive on Saturday, March 4 from 6 p.m. and you’ll see columnist Barry Evans signing copies of his book Revenge of Field Notes (free). Feel free to try and stump him with science questions or fight him on chem trails while you’re at it.
Atmospheric River
blankets me with deep watery dreams of underwater beauty Indian Rhubarb crawdads willow roots flow towards summertime swims
The Rebel Incubator
June 12, 2003 should be a local holiday. On this day, a raucous and deafening cultural event took place, the immediate effects of which have been overshadowed by the sonic mushroom cloud that continues to unfold to this day. The site of this Manhattan Project was The Alibi. The elements fused together were local bands…
Hum Plate Roundup
Intercontinental Breakfast There’s a daredevil glee in chowing down in a greasy spoon, casting hygiene-related fears aside, scratching the mystery spot off your glass and regard your plate — its contents fried to kill all but the most exotic contagions — as Evel Knievel must have eyed Snake Canyon before he hit the ramp. But,…
The Smell Test
What’s that smell? It’s a question that apparently carries a lot less legal significance than it once did. Up until recently in California, a whiff of the sticky icky was enough to give a police officer probable cause to search your vehicle or home. But Proposition 64 and the legalization of possession and cultivation of…
A Starting Place: Resources to #Resist
Here are the numbers Humboldt County residents need to call our representatives: Senator Dianne Feinstein Washington, D.C. Office: (202)224-3841 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington D.C. 20510 San Francisco Office: (415)393 0707 One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104 Senator Kamala Harris Washington, D.C. Office: (202)224-3553 112 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.…
Low Life and High Times
Jesse Wiedel paints moments when the down-home, corn-pone, howl-at-the-moon strain of crazy that burbles beneath the placid surface of Humboldt life rears its head. And he owns the niche. The 17th century genre painter Jan Steen made such a splash with his scenes of household mess that to this day in the Netherlands, any next-level…
The Weirdness of English
English is a mutt of a language, the bastard tongue of a bastard tongue, to use popular linguist John McWhorter’s phrase. He was addressing the fact that the language you’re now reading isn’t just the odd man out of its northern European siblings, but that their parent language ‘Proto-Germanic’ is itself an oddball in the…
Arts Alive!
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Opening receptions for artists, exhibits and performances are held the first Saturday of each month. For more information, call 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org A TASTE OF BIM 613 Third St. Ruben Stokes, artwork. ADORNI CENTER 1011 Waterfront Drive Paul Rickard, watercolors; Barbara Saul, paintings. ALIROSE 229 F St. Susan…
Sinister Elements
Reviews GET OUT. My (relatively) recent enthusiasm for modern independent horror movies seemed to be on a precipitous slide toward its nadir of late. It was a startling thing to discover, years ago, that directors like James Wan (whom I had written off as part of the cynical torture-porn boom) and producers like Jason Blum…
First They Came for …
Editor: I find Joshua Kinch’s nationalist rantings (Mailbox, Feb. 16) as repugnant as I find Donald Trump’s administration. The feds are coming into Humboldt County to round up “undocumented” residents. The Trump administration is already working to undermine a woman’s right to choose around the world, and attacks on those same rights are imminent here in America.…
The Emperor’s New Shoe
Editor: The White House is blocking some of the press from its daily briefings (“That Dam Breitbart Story,” posted Feb. 25), probably as a result of Trump’s claims that the reported news is often fake or comes from unnamed leaked sources. I think all this action will do is encourage rumors and leakers which, in…
The Bully of Oz
Editor: Did you know that bullies are, at their core, insecure? They compensate for this insecurity through braggadocio, bellicosity, bluster and bumptiousness. And they gather around them a coterie of equally insecure sycophants and wannabes. Also attracted are those who are fearful of being left out of the “in crowd.” The bully and his or her…
Fake News!
Editor: Marcy Burstiner treats us to a stunning example of fake news in her column this week, “Media Maven,” (Feb. 23). She writes, “Our government now looks ready to round up mass numbers of people for deportation based on ethnicity and religion.” No, Marcy, they are being deported based on criminal records racked up while…
Paddling Forward
With the smell of coffee wafting from a nearby restaurant, we place our paddle boards on the glassy surface of Humboldt Bay. Earlier that morning, my husband had woken me and suggested we take our boards out to the King Salmon canals. Now he waits until I am safely launched before pushing his board out…
County Seeks to Quell Smell
Every election voters receive a small booklet of information that includes a list of candidates, descriptions of upcoming ballot measures and arguments for and against them. Most of us give those arguments — 300 words each of pros, cons and one rebuttal apiece — little thought. But most of us aren’t Scotty McClure, a Southern…
Feed the Fire
There’s a fire of creativity that burns within each of us. If you want to stoke yours, the Zero to Fierce Festival (02F), a celebration of creative women in the community, offers tools and inspiration. The festival, presented by Playhouse Arts and running in and around the Creamery District March 2-11, is an “opportunity to…
